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Gut Reaction: Mets 5, Reds 3 – 9/6/2016

The Mets continued their winning ways and their two year dominance over the Reds with a 5-3 win. This time they did it on the strength of a sturdy bullpen and four home runs. Yoenis Cespedes provided the big blow with a lead-changing two run-home run in the seventh inning. Curtis Granderson, Jose Reyes and Alejandro De Aza added solo shots of their own to account for all the scoring. Rafael Montero was less than sharp, allowing three runs on four walks and three hits in 4.1 innings, but Terry Collins wisely pulled him in favor of an expanded bullpen and they rewarded him with 4.2 innings of scoreless pitching. A parade of Josh Edgin, Gabriel Ynoa, Josh Smoker, Fernando Salas, Addison Reed and finally Jeurys Familia got the job done.

In the end, Smoker got the win, Reed got his Mets record 33rd hold, Familia his Mets record 46th save, and Cespedes the game ball. The Giants and Cardinals both won, so the Mets remain one game back in the wild card race, however the Pirates and Marlins both continued their losing streaks and appear to be fast falling out of contention. From here on, it looks like a three-way battle for two playoff spots between the Mets, Giants and Cardinals. We may be battered, but we’ve got the easiest remaining schedule of the three teams. This afternoon we go for the Cinci sweep with Noah Syndergaard on the mound. LGM!

11 comments for “Gut Reaction: Mets 5, Reds 3 – 9/6/2016”

2) Have to hand it to Terry Collins, don’t you? He routinely gets killed for bullpen management. And yes, Brian, you did use “wisely” in there, so not directly at you (or anyone) particularly.

Montero is leaving me utterly underwhelmed. The low-and-away FB looks so hittable to me, great location but straight as an arrow. I wish he’d work inside more, wish that slider would slide more. It’s like he needs to add a pitch or something. To say he’s tentative is an understatement.

I can’t write him off at this point, there’s talent there, but I have serious doubts. I’d say his future is in the bullpen, but he doesn’t seem to have the right mental makeup. Not a place for nibblers.

Love the Salas pickup. Masterful move by Alderson. Reed needs consistent days off, as much as possible given the stakes. He’s carried a heavy load this season.

And, oh yeah, those Cards are not going to fade away without a fight. Such an admirable club.

Another series win! It is the formula to the playoffs. So why are the Cards and Giants not cooperating? At least they play each other four times more so somebody has to lose.
Ce$pedes delivers again! Just obscenely overpay him with a two year extension and get it over with. Somewhere in the 60-70 neighborhood. He is a New York kind of guy, a true superstar.
I haven’t heard too much about the Mets approach during this streak. Long ball ruled last night. It doesn’t matter how you win, as long as you win. Ideally it is nice to have a catalyst and a balanced attack (thank you Jose) but eight potential home run threats in the order works nicely too.
A very encouraging 7th inning from Salas. Maybe we can squeeze a month and some playoffs out of him.
TC is funny. Yesterday he said in an interview re Cecchinni that Flores was his second baseman and then proceeded to start him at first!
Lets get greedy, sweep the Reds and put a spare victory in the bank in case we need it. Lets Go Mets!

Montero needs more than a Rabbits Foot— he has minimal movement and velocity, and not enough command for mneh Stuff. He is still lacking the same things as he was 3 years ago, as a heralded Rookie. He’s one of the least interesting “un-established pitchers” I have seen…Including those of other teams. I’ve rooted for Montero… he needs another pitch, and he’s wasted 3 years.

Mets have really benefitted by meeting some lackluster teams of late. The Marlins were soporific, and these Reds barely look like a team at all. Very few of the parts are even remotely interesting.

If I’m the Reds, I go full-tilt rebuild. Tank completely. Go the way of the Astros and Phillies and Cubs. Lose and lose big. Go three years in a row without winning more than 64 games. Get top draft picks. Not numbers 10-12 like Sandy did, get top 1-3 picks every year. Trade Votto, trade everybody. Crater. They won’t be able to compete vs. the Cubs for the next three years anyway. The fans won’t mind. They just need to offer more bobblehead days for The Big Red Machine. Bring back Bernie Carbo as 1B coach, Don Gullet Day, and so on. Right now the team is neither/nor and strikes me as a sailboat completely stuck in the windless water.

They won 90 or more games three times in four years from 2010-2013. But they might go on a decade run of futility. You mentioned the Cubs and of course they have to compete with the Cardinals, too. And the Brewers already have a better jump on the rebuild.

They essentially gave away Chapman and the Cueto and Frazier returns seem underwhelming. They held on to Phillips too long, although that wasn’t entirely their fault. They need to hit on both prospects in the Bruce deal, clean up in the Votto deal (assuming they don’t Freddie Freeman him) and nail their high draft picks. Seems like a lot to ask for.

This is the third year of rotten baseball for them and it would be a surprise if they didn’t have at least four more of those. Funny how they got bad as soon as they got rid of Dusty Baker.

The Reds didn’t have the revenue/payroll flexibility to keep that team together, but you’re right Brian, they looked like a solid club a few years ago. The problem is a) Votto’s contract is so insane (20-25 MM per through 2024 when he’ll be 40) no one would want him. and b) Phillips has a no-trade clause and seems to like Cinci. Instead they traded away all their pitchers, followed by Frazier and Bruce. Votto is a terrific player but a small market team just cannot afford to have one guy eating up that much payroll. He’s a 20MM player now, but in 5 years that contract is going to look like this year’s Ryan Howard deal. Ditto for Albert Pujols in 2 years and Miguel Cabrera in 4. Or, gulp, David Wright now.

I had no idea the Votto contract was for that long. Wow. Length, more than salary, is the issue. According to FG, Votto has already returned nearly $98 million in value and is running over $50 million in surplus value to date. If he stays healthy the next four years, he’ll likely be worth that deal, as hard as that is to fathom.

from ESPN.com the day he signed the contract:
CINCINNATI — Joey Votto got a big payday by staying in a small market, agreeing to a $251.5 million, 12-year deal with the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday, the longest guaranteed contract in major league history.

The agreement adds $225 million over 10 years to his previous contract. The deal includes a club option for 2024, when the 2010 National League MVP turns 41.

A 12-year contract is terrifying. The Yankees and Dodgers can work around big, dead contracts, but they handcuff most other teams. Paul Goldschmidt may be next in line, but Arizona has already committed such a monster deal to Zack Grienke. Bryce Harper’s contract may be the most bananas yet.

Off-Topic Eraff, but once in a great while I go over to “Mack’s Mets” just to be annoyed. Saw your comment today and piled on (I’ve been pretty silent since Mack left). It’s become the worst, most clueless, ill-informed, high-pitched, petulant, whimpering, tone-deaf site ever. Sad and confounding that Mack leaves his name on that blog while they write it into the ground.